


Thank You, Santa Claus

by AgentHawk11



Series: Countdown to Christmas [4]
Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Christmas Shopping, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:01:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21774115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentHawk11/pseuds/AgentHawk11
Summary: And that’s how Chimney’s day went from Christmas shopping with his girlfriend to being in a makeshift Santa’s workshop, in an odd smelling Santa suit, sitting in a creaky old chair, listening to the Christmas wishes of, easily, hundreds of children.
Relationships: Maddie Buckley/Howie “Chimney” Han
Series: Countdown to Christmas [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562821
Comments: 6
Kudos: 8





	Thank You, Santa Claus

**Author's Note:**

> I’m back with another another one. This one is another prompt request fill, the prompt being “dressing up as Santa”.
> 
> As always I have so much fun writing these (we all know by now that gratuitous amounts of fluff is my middle name) and I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Christmas Song: Thank You Santa (Mitchel Musso) (don't look at me like that, I'm a fucking baby okay)

It was the last shopping weekend before Christmas. Chimney was sitting on a bench, playing on his phone, as he grown tired of standing around while bounced around from store to store. It’s been three hours since she’d needed to find “one more thing”. So he resigned himself to being official bag watcher and people watched.

He looked at the crowd of way too many people running around, screaming children, and bored faces, shaking his head. He was more than happy with himself for avoiding this, as he’d already bought his presents for everyone during Black Friday. Online, of course. So he was content to sit back and watch. As he did so, the sight of a man in full Santa suit, walking in his general direction, looking completely dazed caught his eye.

Before he could think about it further, he felt a hand on his thigh, he eyes snapped back in front to see Maddie standing in front of him. “Hey, you ready go?” She asked him with three more bags in her hand.

“I don’t know, are you sure you’re done?” He asked as he he stood up and grabbed the rest of the bags.

“Yes, funny guy, I am.” As he went to grab the bags, she gave him the two larger, pink bags, but kept the small black bag.

He looked at her in question, “I think I’ll kept this one for myself,” her tone was cheeky as she walked ahead of him, “can’t have you peaking.”

“A present for me? Oh baby, you shouldn’t have,” he walked a little faster so he could peak over her shoulder, “I wonder what it is.” 

She thwarted his attempts to grab for the bag. “I let your imagination work that one out.”

“Oh, really?” He said as he stopped her and turned her towards him.

She giggled, “yes, really.”

Their antics were interrupted when someone bumped into Maddie from behind. After helping Maddie get her balance, he realized the person was the guy in the Santa suit that caught his attention earlier. The guy didn’t say anything before trying to walk off again. He still had the same dazed look he had earlier, which was not sitting well with Chimney. “Hey,” Chimney put a hand on the guy’s arm, “are you okay?”

Chimney was met with moans the he thinks were trying to be words. He was swaying on his feet. Getting a good look in his eyes, Chimney could see that his eyes were dilated beyond belief. He look to Maddie, who looked discomforted by this as well. They led the man to a near by bench and their bags down, instincts kicking in as they checked the man over.

“He’s pale and his heart rate is really slow,” Maddie commented with a hand on his wrist.

“Yeah, I felt it too when I had my hand on his arm,” he took his phone flashlight and shined it in the man’s eyes, “no reaction to light.”

“He’s taken something.”

“That’s the answer I’d definitely put money on.” Chimney said as he pushed up the sleeves of the sleeves of his Santa suit looking for an evidence of the man being a drug user. “Sir, do you know where you are?” He still got some moans in response. “Well, at least he can hear me, I think.”

“I’ll call 9-1-1.” Maddie said taking out her phone, while Chimney still tried to engage the catatonic man. 

The medics arrived quickly, couple of guys that neither of them recognized. When his clothing was searched an almost empty bottle of tranquilizers were found in the pocket of his jacket. From them, they were able to learn that the man’s name might be Clark, given that the pills were his. And the possible cause of his catatonic state. As they were loading him onto the stretcher, they saw someone pushing through the crowd of people that had gathered around them.

“God fucking damnit, Clark,” the woman belted with force, anger evident on her face.

“Do you know him?” One of the paramedics asked her.

“Yeah, this idiot is my brother. I know you’re here because he’s taken something. This is last time I try to get your ass a job. Oh, you can bet I’ve called mom and she’s not happy. I can’t believe you’ve done this. This is the last time I try to help you do anything.” The woman ranted. 

The paramedic mouthed “wow” and Chimney and Maddie eyed each other. “Well, okay, we need to take him for treatment...” the paramedic said timidly, trying not to become the next subject of the woman’s ire.

“Fine. Sure. Whatever. I’ll be there soon, I’ve got nothing else to do, seeing as I’m about to be unemployed.” She grumbled. The paramedics quickly gathered their things and left with the man.

When the paramedics left, the commotion died down quickly as everyone returned to their Christmas shopping. Chimney grabbed their bags and prepared to leave when he caught wind of the conversation happening near them, loudly. Though, he couldn’t make out the whole conversation, the woman who was practically yelling could be.

“I know it’s a disaster Sarah, you don’t have to keep repeating it,” the woman said to another woman that was standing in front of her, “I vouched for my brother, I’ll take the heat for that. I don’t care about that anymore. What I care about is that we have a long ass line of kids waiting for Santa and no Santa.” Chimney looked in the direction that the woman was pointing, the line was pretty long.

“Well, at least now we know why he was dressed as Santa,” Chimney joked.

When he didn’t hear a response he looked towards Maddie to see her looking at the two women with a thoughtful look on her face. He learned a long time ago that look never meant anything good.

“Maddie?” Still silent, she walked away in the direction of the two women. “Where are you going?” He called after her. When he saw that she was going to act like she didn’t hear him, he took off in the direction she went in.

By the time he reached the direction they were in he heard, “my boyfriend would love to do it,” Maddie said as she put a hand on his shoulder innocently.

“Do what?” He asked as the three sets of eyes looked at him with differing degrees of joy in them.

And that’s how Chimney’s day went from Christmas shopping with his girlfriend to being in a makeshift Santa’s workshop, in an odd smelling Santa suit, sitting in a creaky old chair, listening to the Christmas wishes of, easily, hundreds of children. He hated to admit, but he kind of liked the joy he saw on the children’s faces. For the most part the experience was pleasant. With the exception a couple of bratty kids, the couple of babies that wouldn’t stop crying, and the awkward experience between him, a kid, and their parent that took place after the kid asked him why he looked Asian.

The best part about it was Maddie. Not wanting him to do it alone, she was dressed as an elf, standing next to him, handing out candy canes. She was extremely good with keeping the kids and parents calm. She even jumped in the pictures and took some for the parents that wanted them. Seeing the kids’ smiling faces made it worth it, to both of them.

He was unaware how much time had passed, an hour, maybe two. All he knew they finally put the signs up signaling that “Santa’s Workshop” was closed. He saw the last few kids that were in line. Once they were sure all the kids and parents were gone, he got up from the chair, pulled the beard down, and sighed. Once got back to the room that held the costumes, he went into the bathroom and quickly changed out of that suit, knowing he’d need another shower when he got home.

As he was coming out, Maddie walked in, still dressed in her elf costume. She smiled at him brightly.

“Never do that again,” he told her. He knew the smile he was trying to hide was threatening his attempt at sounding serious.

“Oh come on. It was fun, plus you made some kids very happy.” She moved closer to him, “admit it, you liked doing this.”

“I will never admit to that,” he wrapped his arms around her, “but I will admit that it was good seeing the kids happy and it wasn’t as bad as I thought.”

“See.”

“But I don’t wanna do this again. Unless I absolutely have to, like something we’re doing at the firehouse or for my own kids or something.”

“Fair enough,” Maddie said, letting him go, “I’m gonna go change then we can get out of here.”

“Finally,” he said with exaggerated exasperation.

As he waited, the woman he’d done this for, Kara, came into the room. “Ah, just the man I was looking for.” She greeted, handing him a white envelope.

“What’s this?”

“The money for your troubles. You and your girlfriend saved my ass back there and I can’t thank you enough. It’s the money they were going to pay Clark for doing this, now it’s yours.”

“Thanks, but we can’t accept this.”

“But-“

“Just call it a gesture of goodwill,” Maddie agreed, as she walked out of the bathroom.

“That’s very kind of you, and-“

He saw what was coming next, he saw the question forming on Kara’s lips. “Merry Christmas.” He grabbed his girlfriend and their shopping bags, practically running out of the room and the mall, before she could ask him to even think about doing that again.

**Author's Note:**

> Not 100%, but I think I did okay.
> 
> Let me know what you think!


End file.
